The Forge -ACT IV System Failure-

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:Cough: Right so A is the winner

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Sam realized the only way to beat the incoming pirate forces was to hold nothing back. That's why when Vance told him the plan to trap the forces in the station Sam didn't hesitate to go along with it. The plan called for luring the invaders deep into the heart of the space colony station, far enough inside to pose a significant threat to the residential areas of the station. Since the pirates are here for plunder, it would be natural for them to go straight for the civilians. Hold back the defending forces and feign a retreat and panic in order to give the pirates a false sense of security. That's when they are most vulnerable.

The plan would obviously put the civilians in extreme danger. It would have to be. There were simply too many pirates and the lack of defenders means they would be overwhelmed if they pick a fight at each boarding party. Better to pick them off in the close confines of the residential area then trying to fight face to face in the hanger. Surprise was everything, it was crucial to make the pirates think the defenders weren't here to fight.

The plan was remarkably similar to the one Vance used when they invaded his ship earlier. The only difference was the self destruct mechanism. Before, Vance destroyed his ship in order to take down the attackers. In this case they'll use stockpiles of mined Plasmite to make a Trojan bomb. The colony had stacks of them in reserve. The pirates would be after the valuable mineral because it's used for the creation of plasma bombs. If you superheat it for a prolonged period of time with a laser then it would cause an explosion. Time it just right and the ship carrying the material would just so happen to be returned to the pirate cruiser from whence it came. With some hidden lasers keeping it on the brink of explosion, the pirates wouldn't' know that their taking a time bomb to their mothership.

A clever plan, one that takes into account the behavior of the pirates. Since Vance is one of them, he knows all about their habits and can predict their every move.

"You know a lot for a common thug"
"We all have our secrets"
"A lot of civilians could die while we wait for the first bomb to go off"
"It's imperative we do nothing until the first ship carrying the Plasmite explodes. I'll wager it will take about three hours for the hidden laser to heat them to critical levels. If we don't screw up, they'll have all the colony's resources in two. If we make a defensive move too soon then the pirates will delay stealing the Plasmite until the threat is over. We risk blowing ourselves up in that case."
"Which is why we have to lay low? I get you, the faster we make it look like we're harmless, the faster the pirates will steal the tainted goods. I hate putting the civilians up for bait though"
"They better learn to get down and bend over. They won't be in a hurry to kill us. They probably want their fun first."
Sam winced. He probably should at least get Sara out of harms way
"The second the first bomb goes off order the hidden defense squads from the asteroids to mop up the fighters. We'll start our counterattack in the colony as well. It should be easy at that point, without the support from the three cruisers the pirates inside the colony won't last long. You can expect them to use the civilians as meatshields and hostages though. There's nothing to be done about that. It's better to deal with a hostage situation then a star ship pointing its lasers at you."
"Is that speaking from experience?"
"It's speaking common sense kid. He who has the bigger guns is the winner. We have to remove those cruisers from the equation no matter the cost. If I have to ruffle the pride of the miners or kill half the children on this station to sink em then I will."

Sam hoped it wouldn't come down to that but they really didn't have a choice. The only way they could destroy the cruisers is if the pirates felt safe enough to steal the tainted goods. If they couldn't destroy the cruisers they were dead.

------------------------------------------

Now Sam needed a way to get Crystal to follow his plans. Preferably she would be outside the station so as to not see the brutality that could occur inside the colony.
"Huh? What do you mean they're on their way here?"
"That prisoner we captured made a good point, we haven't destroyed their cruisers and we lost contact with our decoy group. Their going to attack us in one final battle. I don't think they'll be holding anything back."
Sam was careful not to mention that the prisoner was in fact the same guy that killed Nathan, her father. Sam still needed that man alive, he was the only one with the experience in fighting in these types of conditions.
"Then we'll beat them again!"
"With what? Sticks and stones? We're completely outnumbered and we risk losing the whole station if we take them on head on, we need a plan."
"Do you have an idea?"
"As a matter of fact I do. Give me command of the defenses."
"What? You? But why?"

Sam realized there was only one way Crystal would give him control of the defenders
"I'm the only one here with any experience in tactical planning."
"Are you saying I can't defend my home?"
"Not as well as I can! Have you ever analyzed the Battle of Thor Prime? Have you ever defeated a Forge robot governor in a wargame? Have you ever correctly predicted the next attack by a Xenohive battle group?"
"Well...no but-"
"Have you ever studied the effects of supply lines in a desert environment? Have you ever plotted an alternative battleplan for the Battle of Widow Falls? Do you even know of the disaster that befell the defenders of Widow Falls?"
"What does that have to do with this!?"
"Everything! I spent my entire life learning the art of warfare from my guardian, I won't have my life be put in jeopardy because I sat back let you do something you weren't trained to do. Please, Crystal... give me complete command. I protected you this far, let me protect everyone."

Crystal hesitated, she was looking deep into Sam's eyes, trying to figure out if he can be trusted with everyone's fate.
"Can you really do it? Beat the pirates?"
"I won't let you down"
"Then tell me what to do before I change my mind."
"Thank you! I need you and a small group of your best pilots to wait in hiding outside in the asteroid field."
"What will I do there?"
"Just wait. We'll be in radio contact so I can fill you in on what's happening inside the station."
"Hold on! I'm not going to sit back and not contribute to the fight!"
"No! That's not it!"

Well it sort of was actually, there was no way Crystal would let Sam throw the civilians in harms way so he had to put this delicately
"Do you know the mythical story about the Trojan War?"
"Umm, not really"
"Soldiers who believed they won a battle returned to their city with the spoils of war. In their case a large horse statue, in our case the Plasmite. What they didn't know was that the statue had hidden enemy soldiers inside and in the middle of the night they conducted a surprise attack. In our case the Plasmite is rigged to explode inside the cruisers."
"I see, so the pirates steal our resources only for it to blow up in their face."
"Yes but it's important you don't do anything until I say so! After the cruisers blow up you have to mop up the fighters otherwise they'll shoot up the colony. Can I trust you to fight them off?"
"Okay but what if they don't steal the resources? It seems stupid if they try to steal our goods while in a middle of a fight"
"They'll steal them, I'll make sure of that"

Crystal looked confused

"Just trust me, they'll take the bait."
"But-"
"Enough Crystal! Don't you believe in me at all? Do I have to spell out every detail of the battle for you? We're out of time! You need to take the best pilots you can find and hide out in the field right now."
"Fine! You better know what your doing!"

So do I, Crystal. So do I.

===================================

No question today. Disappointing I know. I'm going to do a second post tomorrow so don't go wandering off too far.

 

Okay round 2. Make sure you actually read the post before this one, this is a double post continuing where I left off yesterday.

===========================

With Crystal safely outside the colony, Vance and Sam put their plan into motion. The first thing they had to do was to attach the small heating lasers on the Plasmite minerals.
"When the first wave of invaders show up press that button to activate the lasers on the minerals. It's on low power so they wouldn't notice the humming noise inside the containers."
"Alright let's stack them up so it's easier for transport"
"Did you follow my request?"
"Yes, I rounded up all the able bodied men who don't have any family attachments to this colony."
"Good, I don't want some idiot to blow our cover trying to save his mother from a women snatcher. Can they be trusted not to break from first contact?"
"I'm not sure, I did promise them Crystal will pay them triple their usual salary upfront."

Of course she did no such thing but sometimes you have to push some people a certain way.
"It will have to do"
Vance pulled out a map of the mining colony interior.
"The green arrow are the entry points to the station. There're two hangers, the main one being the largest. If we don't screw this up they'll enter the larger one in order to flood the station with as many troops as possible. Once they figure out we're not in a fighting mode they'll move here."
Vance pointed to the large red circle.
"The residential district"
"They'll run amok and cause all kinds of shit but at least the bulk of our main forces will remain organized and ready to strike from these areas."
Vance pointed to four blue squares located just outside the residences.
"The garbage disposal facilities?"
"The one place in this entire colony the invaders have no interest in entering. You and I will stay out in this one, it just so happens to have a large window out into space"
"So we can see the bombs go off, okay I get it"
"Then we order the attack on the encircled invaders. If we're lucky they'll be so caught up in their pillaging we'll achieve total surprise."
"And the civilians..."
"Tell them nothing. If they act like they knew the the pirates were coming then the pirates will suspect a trap then we're the ones who are dead."

Sam hesitated, but realized Vance was probably right. If the civilians weren't in the residential area then the pirates would realize something was wrong.
"Alright let's get prepared."
"Oh be sure the bars are stocked up with Black Berosian Mountain Whiskey. I know some of the boys are greenhorns and wouldn't last 3 swigs of the stuff before passing out."

--------------------------------------------------

Outside the Koei mining colony Lothar and his three cruiser fleet lie in wait.
"Sir, the miners don't send any defenders at us. Also our messages to the station have been ignored."
"So be it then, prepare the boarding party and lay waste to miners."
"Yes sir!"

-------------------------------------------------

Inside the mining colony near a rarely used observation deck, Sara waited with great agitation. Sam told her to meet him here, away from the busy life on the residential area. He looked very nervous, almost stumbling over words on how it was important for her to be here on this observation deck alone.
"Tell no one your coming here. Make sure your not seen"

I wonder what this is about? Can it be? Has he finally found his feelings for me?

Sara hugged her knees as she looked out of the observation deck into the asteroid field.
A ship with a skull emblem made it's way towards the station.

-------------------------------------------------

Explosions rocked the station as the first wave of pirates entered the main hanger. Completely unopposed, they quickly secured the main hanger and waited for the rest of their comrades to arrive. With no counter attack coming they started to branch out towards the interior of the station.
Sam saw the events through the security cameras on his portable computer.
"Good, once they realize how safe it is they'll head straight to the supply center and the residential area to claim their prize"
"I locked down certain doors to lead them to the marked areas."
"They may find it strange that locked doors are their only barriers but they'll forgot about it as soon as they get loose in the residences."

Sam made sure to lock Sara inside the observation deck up above the station. One less civilian in the district won't be noticed.
"I just wished we could have saved the children"
"They'll want to capture them alive if they have the chance. They'll torture the parents for information on there whereabouts if missing. If they figure out we knew they were coming they'll suspect a trap and put a hold on their fun.The children fetch a pretty price in the black market."
"Slavery?"
"A lucrative business. Train them young and they become the perfect slaves in adulthood."

The matter of fact way Vance said it almost seemed unreal, like some kind of heartless machine.
"Your a real bastard."
"Don't get me wrong, I don't get involved in that sort of business. Raising slaves is too much work and especially kids. I hate kids."

---------------------------------------------

The next couple of hours were pure terror. The residential district contained a mega shopping center, a large park with a lake and many imported trees, large apartment blocks, and even a small school.
These areas took the brunt of the pirate invasion. Sam witnessed it all on his portable computer. Terrified shoppers scrambled in panic as looters broke through windows to steal and destroy everything they found. A clothing store was set on fire and a children toy store defiled as the roof above it collapsed spilling the erotic manga section of the above book store fall down on it.

Outside in the park terrified families fled every which way as pirates vandalized trees and chased down mothers strolling their babies. One poor women was raped not far from the crying baby she was strolling moments before. The vile man throw the child into the lake when it wouldn't stop crying.
Sam couldn't tell if the other man running across the screen was diving into the lake after the child or running away from the axe wielding man yelling at him from across the lake. He hoped it was the former.

The homes were looted of everything they had. Constant security alarm systems alerted Sam to each break in but the calls would go unanswered. While cameras weren't inside the homes they were on the entrances. Sam could hear the fights that would break out sometimes between the occupants and the invaders. The silence that followed didn't bode well.

The schools weren't ignored either, but these had a different terror afflicted on them. Security cameras were in every classroom and teachers had to bow down to their tormenters. Some pirates came in just to terrorize the children, knocking the instructors out of the way and commencing their own education. Failure to answer the questions? Whip the teacher. Wrong answer again? Two lashings. The pirates made a game of it, even telling the children to graffiti the school building for their own amusement.
Sam decided the situation in the schools were tame in general but the experience would no doubt traumatize the children. Most of them were told their parents are dead by the tormenters themselves, their fates lie in the pirates hands. Whether true or not remains to be seen in the casualty report afterwards.

"It's been over two hours. The bombs are about to go off soon."
"I hope they sent the bombs off the station."
"Don't worry, this went off even better then I expected."
"Even better!?"
"Yeah, they don't have a clue what's in store for them. Lothar has this planned out perfectly in his mind. Send out these clowns to screw around in the city while his own men steal the valuable Plasmite for himself. Why if I didn't know better he will open fire on this station while there still partying."
"You people make me sick, what made you into the animals that you are? Shouldn't we be focused on fighting the Xenohive?"
"We are animals. We do what is necessary to live out in this godforsaken universe. If they deem you expandable then it's your own damn fault, your useless to those fucking machines."
The look Vance had kept Sam from asking anymore questions. It seemed he would get nothing else out of the pirate.

---------------------------------------------------------

Outside the station
"Sir we finished grabbing all the materials from the mining colony."
"Good, prepare to destroy the colony"
"But what about our men!? There still inside the colony!"
"Don't you want a bigger cut of the prize?"
The other man let a smile creep on his face

--------------------------------------------------------

Inside one of the containers a silent buzzing of the heating laser continued it's work. Soon the heated plasmite would chain react and destroy everything in it's blast radius.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Crystal waited for what was almost three hours. Sam has been reporting to her every half-hour. The situation is going smoothly he said, the pirates think they can win so they send more troops into the station only for them to get bogged down in the fighting. The pirates still continue to steal the tainted goods in the meantime.
"What about the civilians? Are they safe? You are protecting them right?"

Sam seemed evasive on the topic of the civilians.
"It's hard to say"
"The situation is murky"
"From where I am I can't see them"
And other non-answers.

Just when Crystal thought she could stay put no longer the first of the bombs exploded on the cruisers

-------------------------------------------------------

"Captain Lothar! The Salient just exploded!"
"What happened!?"
"We don't know! They reported nothing unusual only 5 minutes ago!"
"Get the computer to investigate the wreckage, we may find out what-"

Just then a second explosion occurred on the cruiser Justice
"What the hell is going on!?"
"Captain! Computer says the explosions on both ships occurred inside the cargo hold!"

The cargo hold? Something inside the cargo maybe?
"I want you to jettison all the cargo away from the ship! Do it now before it's too la-"

---------------------------------------------------------

Outside the station in the asteroid field, Crystal witnessed the third and final pirate cruiser blowup from within itself. It happened so fast, all inside one minute.
"Alright boys now's our chance! Take out the fighters then rendezvous inside the colony!"

--------------------------------------------------------

Sam got the word from Crystal. It was now safe to retake the colony.
"Time for some payback"
"Want to team up and show those clowns what happens when we shoot back?"

========================================

Question time!

Spoiler

This is the last part for this chapter. So do we take up Vance's offer?

A)Team up with Vance and crush the invaders.
B)Go your own way and crush the invaders anyway.

Spoiler

I pick A! I'll give you until Thursday.

 

Yeah, I want to see the team-up too, A it is!

 

Nice to have a regular, wish you weren't the only one commenting on the story @Dungeon-Master. If I'm doing anything weird or annoying with the story definitely let me know, my posts aren't too long are they? I'm trying to get the spoiler tags to work right because they are really weird on long posts.

Oh yeah and I'm posting with the white text because I think it looks better (the forum changed the colors). I'm not sure if it's better or not so if you prefer the new default let me know.

In any case A is the winner!

====================================================

Part I

Spoiler

“Alright let’s do this”
Vance and Sam ordered the defenders to finally commence their counterattack while outside the colony Crystal and the fighter squadrons mopped up the rest of the pirate fighters.

“Let’s go to the school first, we need to prevent the pirates from using the children as hostages.”
“Whatever, let’s just get this over with”
They made their way through the halls of the colony, the large door at the end marked the entrance to the spacious sector of the residential district.

“Wait up, there’s a pirate sleeping against the doorway.” Sam pointed to the computer screen on his hands, it had connections to every camera in the sector.
Vance slowly slid the door open and sure enough the pirate was leaning against the door. Pulling out a knife he quickly stabbed him straight through the neck.

“Move!”
They panned out, the residential district was built like a suburban neighborhood. Ahead in the distance the smoking rubble of the district’s shopping center could be seen.
“That’s where the civilians were hit the hardest and likely the heaviest concentration of the pirate forces. Look there’s the schoolyard.”
“Camera shows three pirates on the other side of this door”

Vance walked up to the front door and kicked it opened. Three pirates were startled at the noise.
“Recess is over”
Vance opened fire with his laser pistol hitting two, Sam shot the third in the back of the head with his rifle when he attempted to flee.
“Nice shot kid”
“It was nothing, we have to hurry”
They moved quickly and methodically through the classrooms. Their element of surprise ran out when they reached the forth room down the hall.
“Who the hell are you guys!? Stay back! I’ll kill them I swear!”

The pirate had one of the kids in a headlock, sweeping him off the floor to protect himself
“You think that would stop me!?”
Vance was about to shoot through them both when Sam stopped him short
“Wait I got this”
Raising this laser rifle and taking careful aim, Sam fired a shot right through the left elbow of the pirate forcing him to let go of the kid in pain. Vance finished the pirate off with several shots of his own.
“Now that was a nice shot”

They continued like that for the next several classrooms in the second floor. Either completely oblivious to the commotion down below or assuming their comrades were executing the teachers, the pirates above had no clue of the surprise attack. The last room cleared cost the arm of the teacher but otherwise was an easy affair.
“Alright good work, how’s the situation elsewhere?”
Sam got the status report from the other teams
“The home invasion team reports that they have started a house to house operation and are clearing out the homes as we speak. “
“That’s brutal work but easy to maintain surprise.”
“The mall team has surrounded the shopping center, their waiting for the rest of the groups to finish up so they can storm them.”
“As expected, we’ll save them for last, what about the park?”
“The team attacking the park surrounded the enemy but are having problems wiping them out”
“They’re the weak link of our group, they shouldn’t have had any problems there. Let’s wrap things up for them.”

Part II

Spoiler

The fighting in the park was grind to a standstill, far too many places to hide in the bushes and not enough cover on the outside leading into it.

Spoiler

“Now I see why they can’t get in, I didn’t account for the fact that we would get shot at from even outside the park”
Vance was indicating two five floor buildings around the park area. They gave an excellent vantage point if you try to jump the high fences.
“We have to take over those buildings to give us a clear run at the park”

Sam and a few men sneaked around one of the buildings while Vance took to the other. With no camera’s available for these particular buildings they had to play it by ear. Sam nodded to his team
“On my mark breach the door”
Waiting for Vance to signal he was ready, the order was sent out
“Now!”

The door blew up and the team stormed the barricaded room. Sam shot the nearest pirate who was stunned from the blast. The rest of the team quickly dispatched the rest of the floor.
“Hurry up! We have to clear this building quickly!”
The second floor was more tightly guarded, the stairway leading up was barricaded with tables and vending machines. A few well thrown grenades knocked the debris clear and they proceeded upwards.

The middle floors were empty, presumably the pirates were making a last stand on the rooftop. Opening the rooftop door cost the first guy to immediately get vaporized by the waiting rooftop snipers. Ducking down on the stairway Sam told the team to wait up for progress on the other building.

Meanwhile in the second building Vance had no problems making it towards the rooftops. It seemed the hurry to coordinate a defense of the park area caused the pirates to split too many forces on Sam’s buildings. Reaching the rooftop Vance and the team easily dispatched the snipers and started to put effective fire on the other building a few blocks away.

Noticing the fire that was now being put on the rooftop, Sam ordered several grenades to be thrown out the doorway. Waiting for the explosions they burst out of the tight stairway and cleared out the rooftop. Signaling for Vance to hold fire they now had complete control of the two buildings.

“Time to support the park attack, grab any long range weapons and eliminate targets of opportunity.”
Sam grabbed a nearby Laser Sniper, a special kind of laser rifle with a scope, nearly invisible beam, and much longer range before dissipation. It’s only drawback was its high heat output. With a bird’s eye view of the park, Sam was able to spot the hidden pirates hiding out in bushes and trees. Taking aim, Sam rained deadly accurate laser fire on the camping pirates. The park team was finally able to push up into the center of the park where the fighting became short and brutal. With no cover and no chance of escaping the surrounded park, the pirate group in the park met a quick and deadly end.

Sam and Vance rendezvoused at the central lake area. The area was a complete mess, first it saw the initial invasion of the pirates and then the total destruction of their forces here a few hours later. Sam made it a point not to look at the bodies floating in the lake. The sickening images of innocents being thrown into the lake from earlier weren’t worth checking up on now.

“Park is clear and home team reports they’re finished mopping up the pirates hiding out in the houses”
“What were the casualties?”
“All pirates killed, some of the homes had to be put to the torch killing all it’s occupants.”
“Even the civilians!?”
“Apparently they thought the homeowners were already dead so they found it easier to set those homes on fire”
Crystal wouldn’t like the sound of that. Actually she probably wouldn’t like the sound of anything that went on today but that would be another battle for another time.
“Now we have to take the shopping center, the last known location of the invading forces.”
They made their way to assist on the final battleground

Part III

Spoiler

The shopping center consisted of a large mall in the center with several smaller shops surrounding it. There were 4 open court plazas leading into the middle and they were sealed up by the colony defenders to prevent any pirate from escaping.

The leader for the mall team was telling Vance
“We got them holed up in the mall and in some of the stores outside of it. We’re ready to push in and knock them out for good but it will cost us a lot of men”
Sam chipped in
“We could ask them to surrender?”
“We tried that, they told us to screw ourselves. Frankly I just want to kill the bastards”

Spoiler

“We don’t have to storm the building”

They looked at Vance, he seemed to have an idea.
“There’s a generator underneath the mall, if we overload it it would cause flammable gasses to rise up to the mall floor. A few well placed explosions and they're toast. A fitting end to the day’s battle don’t you think?”
The team leader nodded his head
“I love this idea, after what they did to the district what’s another building? Besides it’s guaranteed there would be no escapees, I’ll make sure my boys keep them in the crematorium”

Vance turned to Sam and asked
“Do you have access to the generator controls through that computer?”
“Yes, I’ll disable the safety controls and put it on full power.”
“Then do it and let’s finish this”

About 20 minutes later security cameras in the generator room showed that some kind of steam and vapor were being emitted from the overworked generators.
“I think it’s almost time”
“I called up some grenade launchers from the armory, we’ll launch some timed grenades into the mall and pull the hell back. I don’t want to get caught in the blasts.”

Plan set in motion, the timed grenades were launched through the mall’s front doors. Too far away to damage the pirates barricaded in the upper floors and stores inside, the grenades would ignite the gasses and set them ablaze.
“Should be any minute now…”
The first grenade went off but nothing happened.
“Give it time”
The second a minute later but still expected inferno did not ignite
“That was bad aiming, the third was shot near a AC vent if I recall”
Sure enough the third grenade worked like a charm, the entire mall floor almost immediately burst into a flaming inferno, the air literally exploded and the chain reaction reached out in all directions

“Fall back! We’re too close!”
The teams preparing to stop anyone from leaving the mall were forced to give up their positions when the flames threaten to engulf even them. The mall and even the stores outside of it were burnt to ashes, black scorch marks littered the ground. Inside the mall the sounds of screaming pirates could be heard from the school area. Pirates could be seen throwing themselves out of the upper floor windows of the building to their quick death. The colony defenders cheered each death, a betting pool even propped up on how many would be on fire jumping out.

There was no need for them to stop anyone from escaping this inferno, the fires worked extremely well and in only 30 minutes the entire building collapsed on itself leaving nothing but a smoldering rubble.

In a rare show of emotion Vance shouted
“Who’s laughing now FDF bitches! You need professionals to win 5 to 1 odds! I won with miners!”

The defenders all cheered along with Vance, the war against the pirates were over. They had no right to win, completely outnumbered with no capitol ships to call their own. It was a last stand worthy of any FDF military tactic.

Looking out at what remained of the residential district. The thoughts of how many civilians had to be sacrificed for this victory bothered Sam. He reconciled himself that the only way that the survivors were all alive was because of their sacrifice, unwilling it may have been. It was the correct judgement, MKAY would have done it and Sam would have done it in a combat simulator. This colony would never be the same again. The loss of this many innocent people would forever put a black mark on it's history. Sam wondered what Crystal would say, he wondered if he could even look into her eyes again when she learned how they weren't protected from the start. Would she forgive him?

No, how could she? I promised I would protect them and instead I used them for my own safety. It was the only way though. I'm convinced of that.

The cheers of the colony defenders echoed throughout the district. Some of them, notably the one’s who fought in the homes were seen carrying around what seemed to be stolen goods. They were looting!

“Hey what are you doing!?”
“Leave them be”
“But-“
“They earned them, besides the former owners are hardly in any position to argue right?”
“It’s not right”
“None of this is right, haven’t you figured that out yet? Do you really think anyone here thinks that Crystal women is going to pay them for this? The Forge doesn't give priority supplies to backwater colonies like this”

Vance pointed out to the the district. True, it would take untold money to pay for all of this.
“Now that’s this is over I should be leaving.”
“Wait your not going anywhere, your still a prisoner”
Vance laughed out loud while some of the fellow “miners” were going up to him to share some of their spoils.
“You and who’s army kid?"

So that’s what it was. Another reason why the defenders had to be single men with no ties or family to the colony itself. The new recruits and workers were chosen for the defense not only so they don’t let attachments affect their performance in the battle, but so to protect Vance himself from any future recapture. Realizing he was played for a fool, Sam admitted himself this small defeat.

"I'm not coming back to this cesspool. You guys are on your own. Hey I seen you in a fight, your no slouch desk jockey, I can see that. Just lose the hero mentality kid. This universe has no heroes. Just a bunch of dead fools."
Vance was already telling some of the miners stories on how he “defended” other planets and made it rich. It seemed he had the ears of the defenders.

MKAY’s words ring true in Sam’s mind
“To the conqueror, the spoils of war.”

I'll call this chapter "Darkest Hour" Technically about 4 hours but... who's counting? Hopefully my chapter naming skills get better as time goes on
A rest period now as I come up with new stuff. Also the spoiler tag below details some fun "alternatives" if you decided to choose different choices.

Spoiler

Oh your actually looking at this?

Spoiler

No really are you sure you want to do this?

Spoiler

Your asking for it...

Spoiler

Before the attack we were given this choice,

The winner was A

Had it been B
I would have had either the character Sara and\or Crystal (my discretion on who) kidnapped by the victorious pirate forces. Yes that's right, the pirates win in this scenario. Ironically this choice dooms the mining station killing more civilians then the first choice. You spare the horrors of occupation in exchange for a quick death by the capitol ship big guns. What was it Vance said? The bigger guns always win? "A" would have eliminated the cruisers since using civilians as bait would have allowed the pirates to feel safe enough to import the tainted "Trojan Bomb" containers.

This would have had the interesting effect of leaving us in a position on completely relying on Vance or going our own way, probably returning to Genesis to ask for MKAY's help. Hard to say, stuff like that was on my mind.

Going C
Oh boy this one is extreme. I don't kidnap the girls, I'll kill one off permanently. Leaning Sara but Crystal wouldn't be outside the picture, the other girl... well who knows what the hell happens to her. Maybe become a slave to the victorious pirates since your in no position to save her. Vance dies in this situation by Crystal's orders and Sam get's captured by the pirate forces. In exchange for his own life he gives up the other girl to slavery.

A sad choice, it's different from "B" since it would be near impossible to save the girl who's left alive. This one would have had chances to twist back into a variation of B but the fact remains Vance dies and both girls become unavailable.

-----------------------------------------------

Regretting your choices? I'm just scratching the surface, we got some new stuff to explore down the line.

 

There's nothing weird or annoying going on, I actually really like how the story's shaping up. But I do think your posts might be a little too long for some people. It's a lot to read all at once, you might want to think about dividing them up a little more. I'm usually okay with it but then again I'm used to reading long visual novels and stuff like that.

Oh, and definitely keep the white text, I think it looks pretty good.

This right here, classic action movie one-liner!

 

Yeah I can agree with that, got a little excited to finish up the arc. Should have slowed down a little because I'm at a crossroad.

Before we start the next chapter...

Somewhere aboard the Forge​

"The Forge Masters will see you now General Silver."

General Silver, Supreme Commander of the FDF forces and a member of the Elite Guard entered the room. In front of him were tall computer mainframes and a single chair . It looked like a courtroom for the Gods.

"Sit"
A mechanical voice, this one different from other Forge machines as it sounded almost like a male human.

"Speak now Silver, why do you seek an audience with us? Your failures in battles do not concern us. We have already given you full command of the Forge's industrial capacity, what more do you need?."
"I have come here regarding Elite Guard member Soujin Nomura"
"Nomura? What of him?" This voice was full of anxiety
"I believe he has made contact with the wanted traitor"
"What!?"
"Thread carefully now Silver, Soujin has not informed us of this"

Silver wiped a sweat off his brow, The chair was really uncomfortable.
"I believe he is hiding his meetings with the traitor . My aide was on a recruitment campaign when she decided to give Soujin a surprise visit. On her way there she witnessed Soujin and the man shaking hands through his villa's window. Later on she confronted Soujin on whether he had any guests lately. He flatly denied it."

"She may have been mistaken, obviously the girl's feelings to please you clouded her judgement. Are you sure this isn't just wishful thinking on your part Silver? We all know your petty rivalry with Soujin, are you trying to plant a seed of doubt on him? I'm very disappointed in you Silver, we aren't fooled by your political games. I will have to draw up a punishment now for-"

"Wait I have proof! Just to make sure I had Leanna, I mean my aide... go back and spy on the Nomura villa. The next day she took a picture of that man!"

Silver produced a photo from his pocket. It was a very clear photo that showed Soujin speaking with a man with a brown cloak and a silver heart shape pendant around his neck.

The machines almost went ballistic as they scanned the photo
"What!? Wh-wh-where's the tra-trator Silver! :bzz:" The computer voice started to stutter incomprehensible words
"Calm yourself Caliph. You are in need of upgrading." This voice was feminine but also under the mechanical guise
"On his home world of Genosis"
"Order your fleet around that sector and any surrounding sectors immediately General."
"But what about the battle at the frontier? If I pull troops now-"
"I WANT HIM B-BROUGHT TO ME IN CH-CHAINS SILVER!"
"Surrender the frontier to the Hive General. The capture of that traitor takes greater precedence then the lives of the humans in the frontier worlds"
"Don't let any ship enter or leave that part of the universe. Use every resource you have to contain those sectors in lockdown while we commence police duty with the local planetary governors."

"As you wish masters."

 

Chapter 4
The Iron Curtain​

Two weeks have passed since the defense of the mining colony. Rebuilding efforts have been slow, many survivors left the colony the first chance they got. Materials were extremely low since most of it were stolen and destroyed.

Crystal was avoiding Sam. After learning that the civilians were abandoned in the opening attack and getting blamed for the loss of so many innocent people she confronted Sam. After an hour of arguing, Sam was able to calmly explain that if it weren't for the strategy they would probably be dead now. The truth bit hard and Crystal hasn't said a word to him since. Vance has already left the station, taking whatever money possible and most of the only able bodied men capable of doing anything. That left Sam, the survivors, and two very angry women.

Sam didn't think Sara would be upset but standing her up on the "date" on the observation deck left a bad impression. You would think she would be happy that Sam thought to put her out of harms way. Instead she got mad he stood her up. Women!

A news broadcast was being aired on the colony, it was causing quite a stir.
"Attention residents of the Genosis, Elkor, Phandora, Eugene, and Koei Sectors. By order of the Forge these sectors are to be put under lockdown for suspicion of containing public enemy #1. No ship shall enter or leave under penalty of death. Report any suspicious persons to your nearest security officer. Contact your regional governor for more details regarding this state of emergancy."

Murmurs broke out in the colony over the unexpected announcement.
A lockdown?

=================================

Time for some choices

Spoiler

We can't leave the blockaded zones but nothing is stopping us from entering another blockaded sector (That would take too many ships and it's more effective to block off hyperspace routes then every planet)

So we have 3 choices
A)We leave for the Genosis Sector. It's our home and MKAY is probably working overtime so he won't notice our presence. Hopefully we'll pick up some useful tools that Sam left behind in his old home (weapons, computer hacking equipment, I don't know something useful for later)

B)We leave for the Elkor Sector. Only one planet is notable here, Elkor II. A swampy wetland known for it's exotic hunting grounds and locals. They say a powerful witch doctor lives out somewhere in the swamp lands...

C)We leave for the Phandora Sector. Three planets that are always cold. Notable for a famous ski resort that houses a large hot water geyser pool. They also host a swimsuit compition. Just avoid the Yeti monsters.

These choices do not include Crystal, only Sara. Also expect some tighter regulating on this chapter as I delicately move the main plot into a reasonable position.

That still won't stop you from voting C

I'm voting B though. You got until Saturday.

 

You're right. It won't stop me from picking C.

Let the hot springs episode commence!

 

i'll second the c option

 

And to no one's great surprise, C is the winner. However...

Spoiler

HAHA! I GOT YOU! I KNEW IT!

Just kidding, you'll get your wishes but even this choice won't deter the plot. I'm awesome that way.

===================================

The broadcasts didn't say that travel between the blockaded planets were restricted so Sam decided to travel to one of them for some R&R. The colony had no longer had any goods to purchase (burning down Malls tend to do that) so Sam thought going to one of the nearby systems would let him buy some stuff with his new credits.
A poster on the wall caught his eye
"Visit us at Phandora II! Scale Mt. Rawley, ski down it's slope, and join us at the #1 rated spa resort where you can relax and enjoy our many events and activities."

A ski resort, maybe that would cheer the girls up. The silent treatment Sara and Crystal were giving him really unnerved him. Getting Sara to go along with the trip was easy, she saw it as an "apology" gesture.
"A ski resort? That's the best idea you had yet, even if your going to invite that...other girl. Well it's better then nothing. I accept your apology Samuel."
Apology?

"Hey Crystal!"
"What is it?"
"How about we take a break on Phandora? I'm sure the FDF would take over rebuilding for a while and I was thinking you need a break."
"I can't, I have to stay here."
"But why?"
"Didn't you know? Planetary governors also include the head of the colony stations."
"I didn't know they included human leaders in the search"
"They usually don't, but they seem really focused on this "Able". I have to stay here, a rep from the FDF is on his way here to survey the area. I have to get them to help out on the rebuilding."
"Oh..."
"But... I appreciate the gesture. Why don't you go? I need time to think alone for a while."

Was that her way of kicking me off the station?
"After this lockdown is over, will you return?"
"I'm not sure"
"Oh, okay. Well... I guess this is goodbye for now."
"Yeah... I guess so."
An awkward silence followed. This didn't go at all what Sam planned. Did she hate him? Does she really hold that much of a grudge against him?

Sam turned around and said over his shoulder.
"Stop regretting that you couldn't save them. It's my burden to bear."

MKAY's words rung in his head
"Should you ever find yourself in doubt, remember it is only a mechanism in the human mind to learn from the experience. Remember, doubt is like a cold. Rid yourself of it and grow stronger."

=======================================

Time for a new round of questions

Spoiler

How much money our we going to spend on this trip?

Spoiler

A)A little. We get a one bedroom (What!?) and a sofa bed (Oh I see what you did there). The usual activities still include the skiing and the pool. Just don't expect the greatest service, we get a really crappy room service guy.

B)A lot. The full suite and an excellent view of the mountain top. Two bedrooms and a luxurious bath. We avoid that crappy room service guy and actually get someone competent. We also get our own private spot on the pool area.

Both choices also determine how much we are willing to spend on souvenirs. There's no middle ground on this choice, everyone knows once you start spending money with Sara there's no middle ground. Believe it or not this actually does somehow affect the main plot.

I pick B, you got until Wednesday.

 

B is the winner. Before we delve into that, a major break in the search for the most wanted man in the universe...

==========================================

LAM: LAM: LAM:
"Open this door Soujin! We know your in there conspiring with the terrorist! Come out with your hands up!"
"Damn they work fast!, Barely two weeks and we got the entire FDF at the door"
"Looks like it's the end of the road then. I'm sorry, our contact must have got stuck somewhere.."
"It's okay. I understood the risks."
"You can always turn back now, they might listen to you if you turn me in."
"No. I made up my mind, you were right. About me, about the human race, about the Forge. I was a fool for so long."
"We were all fools once, I was the biggest fool of them all"
"Can you do me a favor? Please look after my son, my work kept me from being the father I should have been"
"I can make no promises but I'll try."
"Thank you"

LAM: LAM: LAM:
"Last warning or we'll blast our way in!"
"I'm surrending to them now to buy you some time. Hurry Able, run!"
Able escaped through a vent system, his thoughts on the man they call Soujin Nomura.
"Farewell friend, if fate is kind we'll meet again"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The flight to Phandora was uneventful. Sara kept telling Sam how awesome this trip would be. Don't hold back on any expenses she said. Sam didn't plan to either, what else could he do with the credits he worked for? Unless he was closer to the core planets there wasn't much to buy out here.

Sam reached the second planet of Phandora during it's night cycle. The days were longer here with night only being a few hours. A real party destination. It surprised Sam how many ships were waiting to dock on the resort landing strip.
"I hear they're putting out a special discount during the lockdown."
"Clever advertisement"
"Oh? I thought it was the swimsuit model on the poster that caught your eye"
"I'm only saying we needed a break from the past few days. Rebuilding that colony took a lot out of us"
"I know I'm teasing you. You know, now that I think of it I could use a new set of clothes..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A Forge machine awaited Sam and Sara at the lobby. It looked similar to MKAY but instead of a TV screen body it had what seemed to be an old surround sound speaker. From them the voice came
"Welcome visitors to Pleasure Phandora Ski Resort! Please state your name and time of stay."
"Sam and Sara, I'll say about one week for sure."
"I want the suite! We have to stay at the suit level!"
"Sam...Sara...one week...suit level...That would be 20,000 credits. All inclusive. You are guest I.D #2256 and 2257 respectively."

Sam coughed, He was payed 30,000 credits and just like that more then half his paycheck flushed
"You hear that Sam? All inclusive! How awesome is that?"
"Yeah...awesome"
"Also be aware, security teams from the FDF are operating in this resort. You are to assist them should they ask or stay completely out of their way. Do not attempt to engage them in conversation as you would be impeding their mission."

===============================================

Time for vacation planning!

Spoiler

As I cleverly force my main plot into things (or brutally, maybe I'm not as clever as think I am) , we still need something to vote on. So I must ask, what should we do first in this mega resort?

A)Mountain Climbing! This will lead to skiing later on. The long treck up the mountain would give us some private time. Also Sam and Sara are complete noobs at skiing so lot's of fail is to be expected. Hey is that a tree coming up?

B)Casino! The Forge robots give us their best poker face and we play Bingo! Some of these prizes are pretty cool, think we can win?

C)Skating! Do they even know what they're doing? At least it's easier to figure out then skiing (okay I'm going by personal experience so don't shoot the author!). Hey is that a frozen lake over there? I think it's empty...

I pick D all of the above! No you can't do that (but why!?). Reasons. Then E, the pool? Nope not that either (but why!?). Reasons

I pick A and you have until Saturday.

 

Well, Mr. Doomguy, I think I'm gonna have to ask you to show me your best...



...Poker face. I pick option B.

 

B is the winner. I just realized I never really played poker as Blackjack is more my forte.
We'll see what I put together. First thing first, our main plot keeps turning...

=============================================

"I got word from Genosis, they captured Soujin"
"Damn! I can't believe we got stuck covering our asses in this ice hole."
"Someone must have tipped the FDF about the changed ID on our ship. What other reason would they have to impound it?"
"A traitor in the ranks?"
"Could be."
"I got a bad feeling, we have to get off this rock."
"This whole mission is rotten to the core. There's no way the FDF could have suspected our ship without some kind of outside help. It means we've been compromised"
"So you think it's sabotage?"
"Only explanation, still it's strange that they don't recognize our faces."
"I wonder for how much longer. So how's our money?"
"Almost dry."
"Idiot! That's what you get for wasting it at the casino!"
"Relax, they know me at the casino. If anything maybe I'll get invited into some rich lady's room. I bet she won't notice I hacked her ship's pass code"
"We're thieves now? Well it's for the greater good. You better hurry up with your little "mission" Dirk. The looks of those security officers give me the creeps."

=========================================

"Wow! Sam check out the bathtub!"
It was shaped like a gigantic Octopus. It was almost more like an indoor pool then a proper tub.
"Just don't go drowning in it Sara."
"Oh maybe I will, will you come save me if I call for help?"
Sara gave him one of those smiles again. Behind it stirred images in Sam's mind that froze his comeback. Was she always like that? Sam wondered how much longer until she had enough of his inaction and would take matters into her own hands.
"Hey stop blushing pervert!"
"I...what!?"
"Still, this is kind of to big for a tub. I'll try it once but I'll stick with the shower."
The sudden change in topic kept Sam on edge. She would always do that, lead him one way only to catch him unprepared. It was her way, and Sam suspected that lately she's been doing this on purpose.

"So what do you want to do today?"
Sam did want to check out the pool but suspected that Sara would make another embarasing joke. Besides that meant he would have to go shopping for a swimsuit with her, he didn't want to do that after the awkward conversation.
"How about the casino?"
"Oh yeah I heard they have a daily bingo and lucky winners get an evening dinner with William Davis"
"Who's that?"
"Did a mining asteroid hit your head? He's the famous singer and actor in the movie "Star-Crossed Lovers"
"Oh, I guess I don't pay much attention to that."
"You're boring."
"Forgive me for not having your taste for culture. I'm only a simple orphan boy raised by boring old robots. I am so ignorant"
"Yeah whatever. I doubt we'll win anyway, did you see how many people are here? What are the odds?"
"500 to 1. If it's held during the peak hour then I'll say 1200 to 1.
"Forget I asked. So we're going now?"
"Yeah, let's go."

=================================

It's that question time again. I noticed I'm one step behind the actual vote but I guess we'll roll with that.

Spoiler

Time to pray to your one true RNG God. I need to know how many sacrifices you made to Cthulhu in order to determine our "luck".

A)I did my daily prayer but that's all. NO LUK

B)I admitted to my co-workers\school friends who hate anime that I like to watch anime magical girls with short skirts get molested by tentacles. Cthulhu RNG God is pleased. +2 LUK

C)I sacrifice the world's first cat girl to Cthulhu RNG God. +4 LUK, -9000 humanity *Note* Humanity stat is bugged and has no effect

D)I admit to Doomguy that I'm responsible for deleting this scene. +9000 LUK, -100 relations to Star Wars Fans, -1 respect, -1 inteliggence, +50 relations with George Lucas. Cthulhu forgives you and looks forward to your future "sacrifices" now that you are a believer.

Naturally I pick D. You have until Tuesday.

 

Well...I mean, I'm not sure if I should be going public with this information, but...here's a little Skype conversation I had with Mr. Lucas.


George Lucas: I think I should kill off Jar-Jar. Everybody hates him and I'm pretty sure they want him to die horribly.
Me: Don't do it.
GL: Are you sure?
Me: YEAH, I'm sure! You gotta stick to your guns, man!
GL: I don't know...I really think he might've been a mistake in the first place.
Me: Dude.
Me: Come on.
Me: This isn't just about Jar-Jar, okay?
GL: It's not?
Me: No, it's not!
Me: It's about ARTISTIC INTEGRITY, George! Whether people like him or not, Jar-Jar is your creation! If you give in to them now, what's it gonna be next? Next you're gonna tell me that they want Anakin to stop being a whiny little douchenozzle.
GL: Actually...
Me: See, that's what I'm talking about. Once you start caving in, it never stops. Soon...you won't even RECOGNIZE your own movies. Is that really what you want?
GL: I guess you have a point...
Me: Well, I know I have a point. You made Jar-Jar. Now fight for Jar-Jar. People will warm up to him eventually once they see how much time and passion you've put into developing his character.
GL: Thanks, DM. You've given me a lot to think about.

*Soon after this conversation.*

Cyborg Zombie Gene Roddenberry: Have you completed your mission, Dungeon Master?
Me: It has been done, master. Jar-Jar will live.
CZGR: Excellent. Your skills are truly a boon to the Federation.
Me: Your praise is too much for this lowly servant.
CZGR: Live long and prosper.
Me: Live long and prosper, master.


So, there it is. I'm gonna have to go with D.

 

So D is the winner. @Dungeon-Master don't forget to lock your door because an angry mob of Star Wars fans may attempt to drag you out for mob justice.


========================================

This wasn't a Casino, It was an ice palace. The interior was humongous, and everywhere Sam looked there was an ice sculpture of humans, robots, and even monsters. The center of the casino had the roof open in order to let the snow fall in. It fell on what seemed to be a play area for children. They had snowmen, snow castles, even some kind of snowball throwing Forge machine that peppered the children relentlessly in a game of war. Sam was tempted to try that out!

There was also a second floor and what they did to that was ingenious. The floor was made of clear ice, you can see straight through to the gambling tables up above. This was definitely not a place where you wore open skirts. Sam thought the ice floor would make it slippery but there seemed to be method to it's design. In fact the room seemed rather warm for the amount of ice decorations that were on display. How was none of this melting? A man showcasing an exhibit about the ice environment explained everything.
"A new invention created for the FDF for use during frozen environmental combat. This gel is rubbed on ice in order to maintain it's temperature in even the hottest environment. Do you see the blue half of this bottle? That's the coating on the ice. Now when you apply this red half of the bottled gel on top of the one prior..."
The sculpture melted almost immediately. The spectators were awed.
"Voila! Fresh cold water! During a winter attack soldiers would frequently run into the problem of their water supplies becoming completely frozen. This HydroHeat gel ensures that our soldiers have a way of securing their most vital resource. It's even toxic free!"

"Isn't that amazing?"
"They really thought of everything have they?"
"You there young man, how about a demonstration?"

The exhibit man was speaking to Sam
"Oh me?"
"Go!"
Sam walked up to the exhibit
"Now stand right there, no to the left...hold still... good don't move!"
The man walked a few paces away from Sam
"Now!"

A gigantic block of ice fell on top of Sam! It had a hollow interior so Sam wasn't crushed, instead he was trapped in the ice prison.
"As you can see he's perfectly okay ladies and gentlemen!"
"Hey get me out of here!"
"Come now be a good sport. Now tell the audience how it feels in there"
How it feels? Now that he mentioned it, it did seem a little warmer in here then outside. How is that possible?

"It's kind of warm"
"Exactly! HydroHeat could even be applied to create an insulated box. When this blue gel is placed in a confined area like he is in now it can act as an insulator . In a pinch you can use HydroHeat to store food you found out in the winter wasteland and prevent it from turning frozen. The same method to melt it applies."
The exhibit man melted the ice quickly with the red half of the bottled gel and the audience applauded
"And there you have it! You can have your very own supply here in the Phandora shopping center."
The man gave a box full of the bottles to Sam and Sara
"Here you go, for being a good sport. And for you too for letting me borrow your boyfriend."
"Thank you but I would have preferred you kept him in the ice prison"
Everybody laughed at the jest, Sam was just glad to be out of there.

"Don't forget to get you Bingo tickets everyone! Remember it's only one per guestroom, good luck!"

"That was fun"
"Yeah it was actually"
"This place is amazing, who knew people could build things like this."
"Let's look upstairs, I bet the whole room looks better from up high"

===========================

I can't think of any questions to ask this time :/
The previous vote is still in progress and asking a plot related question is a bit spoilerish so I'll ask nothing for now.

The next post will be on Thursday so be sure to check it out!

 

There was no vote last time, this is more of a followup

====================================

Dirk looked down through the ice floor on the people below. There was a lot of them today, seems a new batch of tourist arrived this morning.

"Hey look, even the machines are playing the games"
Dirk turned his head and saw a young blond women dragging some guy to the table.
"I didn't know they allowed Forge robots to play casino games, wouldn't that be cheating?"
"The machines could be tricked just like any other person"
"I can imagine"
Dirk took a closer look at the newcomers. That women... even though she was heavily dressed for the cold weather she had the movements of a skilled courtesan. Was she an off duty worker here? Why was she with this "boy" when much greater men were all over the casino? Maybe he's one of those rich kids on vacation. Yeah that must be it. The perfect opponent to siphon money off in this game.

"Hey how about a few rounds?"
"Go ahead Sam, I bet your good at this kind of thing"
"Alright, it's been a while since I played this game"
"Just to let you know, this ain't your daddy's game"
"Oh I can hold my own"
"You better watch out, Sam could beat any anyone, anytime"
The women gave Dirk a suggestive smile
A challenge? I'll show you a good time babe

The first few rounds were garbage, no one had anything good. The kid was playing surprisingly conservative for someone with money. He even wasted some pretty good hands for some meager gains. Didn't he know the purpose was the knock out the other players? Maybe Dirk was wrong about him? But... the kid has to have money, why else would he have that women hovering over him like a hawk?
Dirk decided to raise the cup. He had a pair of kings. A good hand but he can't get too eager yet. Feigning a look of boredom he checked out the women. There was something about her that kept Dirk on edge.
Ha, what's wrong with me? Like some kind of schoolboy.

The kid just went all in.
That left Dirk the only one. The women for the entire game kept quiet and had that suggestive smile pasted on her face. Was she looking at him from the corner of her eyes?
Your boyfriend just screwed up missy.
Dirk went all in.

The cards revealed the kid had a 6 and a 7
Dirk couldn't help but smile.
"Well good luck kid"
The robot dealt the cards, an eight appeared.
A straight? What are the odds?
Then a 10 appeared.
This can't be happening.
An ace,
Whew.
then a 9.
Oh come on!

"You did it Sam!"
"That was a nice break"
Dirk was stunned, what a lucky bastard getting a straight!
"I can't believe you pulled that out"
"Pretty lucky, well that's how it goes"
"Sure is. Are you part of the new group of tourists that came in this morning?"
"Yeah, you can tell?"
"I've seen everybody at this casino for the past two weeks now. I'm like a celebrity now. Name's Dirk"
"I'm Sam, this is..."
"I'm Sara, pleasure meeting you. You've been here for two weeks?"
"Yep, great place isn't it?"
"I still can't get over it"
"Me neither, that's why I haven't left!" Well that and I lost my ship...
"I can imagine, you got a great face...uh I mean poker face!"
Oh so there's something you like to see miss?

"Yeah I couldn't tell what you were thinking"
"My line of work requires pretty calm nerves. So you guys on a honeymoon or something?"
"Oh no, nothing like that. We're just travailing together on break."
The women frowned
"He always says that. He asks me out and acts like it's no big deal"
Sara let out an exaggerated sigh.
"See I bet Dirk knows how I feel? Right Dirk?"
"Oh don't mind her Dirk, she does that on everybody"
"You're incorruptible"
"It's incorrigible"
"Whatever!"
"Haha! I can imagine, my gambling friends left yesterday so I'm on my own. Hey I have an idea, how about I show you around the resort? It's a lot more fun then dealing with the robot tour guides."
"Sure sounds fun, right Sam? Oh hey the Bingo is about to start, how about we grab a table and talk some more."
"Sounds good to me"
That women seems like the one in charge, the guy must be the unwilling boyfriend. I just have to get invited one day into their room so I can sneak out with their ship's I.D card.
Sara gave him a knowing smile.
Oh yes, too easy.

---------------------------

Sara kept her eyes on this Dirk character. Teasing the men was one of her favorite pastimes. It was as MKAY said her only good quality. MKAY couldn't understand as a robot though. She had a power over men that no machine could truly understand. A small smile here and there, the subtle eye winks, the fake blushes and surprise eye contacts. She mastered this game long ago. MKAY understood the theory behind "human courting rituals" as he called it.
She knew the practicals.
There was something unnerving about this Dirk person. The way his eyes kept darting around the room. He seemed to tense up whenever an FDF officer got near him. Most people wouldn't notice but she was taught to understand the subtle clues of a person's body language. And the way he kept looking at her... it wasn't normal look of lust she usually got.

It was desperation.

==================================

Spoiler

Ah... I love those character development posts. Picking the Casino is working out better then I could hope for. Now for the next question.
This Dirk guy is pretty good company, he's even willing to buy us a few dinners down the road. Sam is oblivious to Dirk's ulterior motives and is willing to meet with him again (at Sara's urging).
Where should the group meet up to next?

A)Mountain Climbing! Why did Dirk choose to be the guy climbing below Sara's position again?

B)Skating! Dirk teaches us the proper way to do it. Of course with a little more emphasis for Sara

Can't pick both and no pool yet. Dammit Doomguy why!? Reasons
I pick B and you have until Sunday.

Good news! i have the ending solved for this chapter. There's no getting off this train we're on.

 

B won

==================================

The robotic voice of the casino machine echoed through the room
"Welcome to the daily Bingo event. First prize get's a free dinner with movie star William Davis and a lump sum of 5,000 credits. The next 10 runner ups get a lump sum of 500 credits. I would wish you luck, but there is no such concept in my programming to truly mean that.
First number is..."

The game started and as luck would have it Sam got a few numbers lined up almost from the start.
"We only need one more!"
About 16 more calls and still Sam couldn't get the illusive G line. Then when he thought someone else might get the Bingo first the machine called out the last number!
"BINGO!!! BINGO!!! WE GOT BINGO!"
"Not so loud, you'll blow out my eardrums!"
"Your supposed to be loud! That's the point of this game!"
"All winners report to the prize desk for review."

Dirk had the look of surprise on his face
"Lucky again!? Damn kid, you have lady luck on your side today!"
Sure enough, their card checked out with the numbers that were called
"Congratulations, 5,000 credits will be transferred to your account and here is the voucher for the free dinner at our luxurious 5 star restaurant, "The Yeti's Appetite". William will dine there tomorrow at 8 PM local time. Please dress appropriately and only you two please."

"I can't believe it! Let's go tell Dirk, I wonder if he knows about this prize"
Dirk was waiting by the table, it seemed he only had two of the numbers lined up
"William Davis? Yeah I heard of him, I think he's here on contract for a few months. He had a concert a week ago, I think he might do another one soon."
"So what's he like? Is he still a dreamboat like in the movie? Does he still sing? Is he married? Did he bring a girlfriend with him?"
"Woah slow down, I have no idea, it's not like I pay attention to the guy's love life. Also him a dreamboat? That guy ain't that special, there's plenty of other men better then him..."
"Oh yeah like you right!"
"I-I didn't say that, I mean he's famous and all but he's like any other guy"
"Really Sara, I would think you would want to hitch a ride on that guy's ship."
"Mmm, maybe I would, what would you think?"
"Wait you can't do that!"

The unexpected panic from Dirk's voice raised the curiosity of the duo. After an awkward pause...
"Yeah your right, we got a better ship anyway"
She gave Sam a playful smile that caused Dirk to raise his eyebrows
"I don't know what she's talking about. It's a junker that doesn't even have proper upgrades yet."
"Huh. You should show me sometime, I got an interest in ships and have some friends who can provide some good upgrades."
"I'll think about. So anyway what do you want to do now?"
"We can check out the pool."
"I want to go ice skating"
They both looked at Sara, she was looking at the children in the play area skating.
"I want to learn how"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Planet Genosis, Soujin's homeplanet

"Has Soujin revealed the location of Able?"
"No but he broke during the interogattion and revealed that the men he was suppose to contact was meeting him from the Phandora system."
"I see, is that all we can get?"
"It seems so, any further and we will permanently break him. His training in resisting is extraordinary."
"Of course, don't forget he is a member of the Elite Guard. Alright then, ship him off to the Forge. Increase security on the Phandora system and locate the suspects."
"What about Able?"
"I've called General Silver, I think he has a plan for this planet."

=============================================

No question again. However we are coming up to important events that may include multiple polls. Next post on Wednesday.

 

They found themselves a nice park that was empty, the lake was frozen and it was the perfect place to go ice skating. Although niether Sam or Sara have ever ice skate it came rather naturally to them, Dirk was a good teacher. Well there was that one time Sara crashed into Sam.

"Hey your supposed catch me!"
"What do I look like a professional?"
"Here, I'll lift you up"
Dirk motioned for Sara to make a move towards him. She bit her lip, falling down on the hard ice was not her idea of fun
"Come on I'll do the lifting, you just worry about keeping your balance"
"Alright but you better not drop me!"
"I wouldn't dream of it"

Sara skated towards Dirk at a reasonable speed then when she got close enough Dirk reached out and grabbed her waist lifting her a few feet from the ground. Then he spun around and gently placed her on the ice letting momentum carry her straight.
"Oh..."
"It's not so bad right? Let's See if you can get a nicer landing"
"Okay!"

They repeated the exercise, each time Sara became more and more proficient on her approach and landings. Each time Sara came at Dirk and he would lift her up from the ice. The faster she came at him the longer and tighter Dirk would hold her until skillfully sending her gliding through the ice. Sara seemed like she was genuinely having fun. Dirk's hands got lower and lower when lifting her up, At first Sara knocked them away but as time went on Sara stopped resisting. In fact it seemed the two made more body contact then was even necessary for the stunts.

Sam started to feel a little light headed.

"Hey what's wrong?"
Sam took a seat on the bench nearby.
"I'm feeling a little out of it"
"Maybe it's the mountain air?"
Dirk pulled up alongside Sara, somehow that made Sam feel a little worse
"Hey man you don't look so good"
"I'll be fine, I just need a little break"
"Maybe you should head back to the room and take a nap, you've been pretty busy the last few weeks after all. No need to rush our vacation"
"Yeah don't push it. I'll plan with Sara what we can do later tonight, you can go get some rest"

Sam didn't want to leave. He also didn't think it was fatigue that wore him down just now. Trying desperately to come to his senses, nothing MKAY said about this feeling made any sense. Sam hated not knowing what to do, why now? He wasn't prepared for this at all.

It's jealously. As ridiculous as it sounds I'm actually jealous. I know in my head Sara would never let a guy like him get involved with her so why am I so upset to see them get close like that?
Has she... has she finally given up on me?

Sara looked concerned
"You don't look good at all Sam, maybe you should take a nap. It's okay, Dirk will keep me company."
"I"m..."

==========================================

Poor old hero, only now does he start to understand in the end. Oh right the question

Spoiler

A) "I'm fine!" he says. In fact so rejuvenated is Sam that he decides now is the moment we should go shopping for that swim suit Sara wanted.

B) "I'm going to take a nap" Oh no! We leave Sara to her fate, what will happen to her when left alone to the devious Dirk? *Hint* Sara is more in control then you think

Love this railroad plot even if you don't see it. Both choices still lead to a new character being properly introduced. Oh and you can't pick something like Sam confessing his love. Technically I'm still under the vote that Sam does not feel that way (yet. If this keeps up that vote can reverse itself but all in due time)

I pick B and you have until Friday.

 

I've decided that Sam shall not be allowed to wuss out. All in favor, say aye!

Going with A.

 

"You cockblocking bastard Dungeon Master! I was "this" close to getting it on with her until you decided to give that impotent kid another break." Secret thoughts of Dirk as he watches this all important vote unfold.

Couldn't resist